Family Ties
by DDR
Summary: Just as Beverly Crusher and JeanLuc Picard’s romance has taken a turn towards marriage Beverly must face a 16 yearold secret that she has kept from her love while harboring a new secret that brings back old memories.
1. Chapter 1

FAMILY TIES

PART ONE

DDR

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I own the story and any of the characters which I created, however I don't make money off of this.

Summary: Just as Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard's romance has taken a turn towards marriage; Beverly must face a 16 year-old secret that she has kept from her love while harboring a new secret that brings back old memories. Also Beverly is paid a visit from her son announcing some very big changes in his life, while the Enterprise rendezvous with the Titan for some much needed shore leave.

Pairings Crusher/Picard Riker/Troi Wesley/ Isabel M.

A/N This story has absolutely nothing to do with the 80's sitcom by the same name! Seriously!

A/N A few points to remember:

Setting is approximately three years after Nemesis

Jean-Luc convinced Beverly to stay aboard on the night of her supposed departure for SFM after Nemesis.

This story says that Beverly and Jean-Luc slept together the night of the episode "The Big Goodbye"

This story gives a second reason as to why Beverly left for Starfleet Medical during season two.

Will and Deanna have one child here, Dianna (Anna) Riker

During this time Wesley got permission to rejoin Star Fleet and he now serves under Riker's command as Chief engineer of the Titan. His rank is Lieutenant.

Aboard the Titan is a Lieutenant name Isabel Manhattan, Wesley's love.

A/N I hope you enjoy the story, there will be seven more parts after this one. It is mostly a story written to explore these story lines so parts may not be too believable but please just take it as it is. Please review if you feel like it.

The Story:

CHAPTER ONE

Beverly Crusher laid silently in her bed taking in the rhythm of her lover's breathing. A smile played across her lips as she thought about the day and about the last week. A week ago the Enterprise had gone to recover any survivors from a shuttlecraft that had crashed on a desolate planet. They had recovered two survivors, a two year-old boy and a four year-old girl. The children had become attached to Beverly and, much to everyone's surprise, to Jean-Luc as well. Beverly stifled a laugh just thinking of the way that the kids had stayed with him. He was actually rather good with them. For the week Beverly, Jean-Luc and the children looked, and acted, like a family. She had to admit that was something that she wished that she didn't have to let go. Early that morning a man and woman had come to get the children. Even Jean-Luc had been reluctant to see them leave. But later that night Jean-Luc had come to Beverly's quarters for dinner and about half way through their meal, he proposed. Beverly hadn't been completely sure if he had actually done it at first, but once she realized that he had, she said yes. Jean-Luc had cried in relief at her answered after such a long silence, but that quickly subsided when Beverly kissed him. He told her that he wanted to have a family with her. Soon after that the night's events had escalated and needless to say Jean-Luc didn't go back to his quarters for the night. Now here they were content to be together.

Beverly knew that now more than ever she'd have to be open with him. She had been keeping a secret from him for a very long time now. This was the kind of a secret that could tear families apart. At the time, keeping the secret had seemed like the best and perhaps only option, but now seeing as the two were to be wed, it didn't seem right to keep something so important from him. What if she did tell him and he was mad at her for keeping it from him? He had every right to be, but what if this fact took him away from her forever? Beverly felt her insides twist at this thought. They had waited so long to be together and now a mistake that she had made 16 years ago could tear them apart. Her actions could hurt them both. She shivered and moved closer to Jean-Luc hoping to shake the thought that she may be the cause of the destruction of their world together.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Beverly sat in her office. She finished reading the PADD that she had been studying and then put it down. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and then put her head on her arms on the desk. She hadn't felt well in what seemed like forever. Lately she had had a lot of work; doing crew physicals, picking a new medical team, she was taking a new school course for biogenetics, on top of all of this she had spent every other moment with Jean-Luc. Sometimes they'd be together until three in the morning leaving her very little time for sleeping. She looked at the chronometer and shook her head. It was about this time everyday when she started to get a headache. There was a possible reason, but she had chose to ignore it. It didn't seem like it could happen… not at his point in her life.

Beverly looked up as the doors slid open and Captain Picard walked in. She smiled as he came into her office.

"Hello Love." He said quietly.

"Hi. What brings you to my office?" She asked.

He smiled "I just wanted to see how you are feeling?" He asked.

Beverly rubbed her eye lids. "I'm alright except I've got that damn headache again. No matter what I do I can not get rid of it." she said, exhaling roughly.

"Well have you tried to get rid of what ever might be causing it?" He suggested.

She looked at him "Well I'm not even sure what could be causing it. Probably stress… lack of sleep. I don't know. It will go away eventually"

Picard touched the side of her face with the back of his hand reassuringly. "Do you have a fever?" he asked as their skin came into contact.

Beverly sighed deeply "My temperature is slightly above the usual. But I am fine." she said

"Hmm…" Picard began "I think that the shore leave we've got coming up will do you well." he said.

She nodded and immediately regretted it since it made her head throb. "Yeah." She said, But then she got thinking, this may be the most stressful shore leave ever. She would have to explain things to him tonight.  
"Jean-Luc, there is something we need to talk about tonight." said Beverly looking up into his eyes. She saw his confusion and concern, and he saw the importance in what ever she need him to know.

He nodded. "Sure. Bev, take the rest of the day off. Give yourself a break.. Just for today, you need it." He said

"Okay." she replied.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, she kissed him back. Just as he was about to leave she said

"Jean-Luc, I love you."

He looked back at her

"I love you too." he said.

Beverly had never felt more worried that her world was going to collapse. She felt very nauseous as she was preparing to leave and decided that she should investigate the seemingly impossible reason for illness.

She felt even worse when the test results came back positive.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Beverly had gone back to her quarters in a wreck. She wasn't sure how she was suppose to feel right now. Her body felt weak and sick. Her mind felt overwhelmed and her nerves made her feel as if everything would fall apart at any second. She knew what she needed now was Jean-Luc, but she didn't know how he'd feel about any of her secrets. Beverly sat on the sofa, arms wrapped around a fluffy throw pillow her chin rested on the top. She had already changed into her silky pale blue nightgown. Her hair was let down and rather disheveled.

The door chirped and after a second she gave the command and Jean-Luc walked in. He stood still and stared at her a second before she seemed to notice that he was there then she looked up at him. And he immediately came over and sat next to her on the sofa. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his chest.

"What's bothering you, love?" he asked quietly

She wrapped an arm around his waist suddenly afraid of letting him go.  
She sighed heavily.

"Jean-Luc there is something that we need to discuss."

Jean-Luc stroked her hair in a comforting fashion.

"Alright." he said

"We have known each other for a very long time. We've been in love for years and now we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, so there are some things that I need to share with you." she said.

As she sat up she could feel her nerves at work and that big ugly lump in her throat that tried to block the words that she had kept hidden for so long now. Jean-Luc was silent allowing Beverly time to gather her words and emotions. Although he didn't make it known to her Beverly's sudden action of wanting to make confessions scared the daylights out of him. What had she kept from him that could cause her this much turmoil?

"Okay, The secret that I've got to share with you is 16 years old. I never told you before because I didn't know how you would feel, but now… Well, Do you remember when I left the Enterprise D for an assignment at Star Fleet Medical?"

Jean-Luc nodded

"There was more to leaving the Enterprise that year than a career choice…" she was silent for what seemed like, at least to Jean-Luc, an eternity. Then she looked into his eyes, and the fear of his reaction set in and tried to over power her but the immense love that they shared presided this emotion and made her sure that the truth was best to be held between them instead of alone.

"I had a child." She whispered.

After a long moment of saying nothing but staring in each others eyes he said

"Ah, I see."

"Jean-Luc, you are her father."

His mind began to swirl with memories of that year and there first and supposedly only night of passion. At first he was concerned with the fact that hehad beena father all these years and was unaware of it, but then he came to understand Beverly's choice in not telling him.

"Jean-Luc?" Beverly asked as he said nothing in return.

"Are you mad?" she added quietly.

"I don't know. No. I understand I just.. I feel kind of guilty that I don't know my own child." He said with a bit of a shaky voice.

"Well, part of the reason I'm telling you now is because her 16 birthday is during our shore leave and she asked for only one thing, no party, no cake, but to meet you." Beverly smiled hoping that Jean-Luc would agree.

He looked at her with a lopsided grin. "Really?" He asked.

Beverly nodded "Yes. I think you'd really like her too Jean-Luc. Felicity, is very smart and clever too. She loves history and reading and she wants to join Star Fleet."

Jean-Luc nodded "Oh yes, I'd love to meet her." he said.

At first he had been shocked and he expected himself to be angry, he was a bit hurt that she had kept this from him for so long and that he hadn't raised his daughter but then he decided that he might as well start here. Mostly likely Beverly had explained the circumstances to their kid already. Then a thought occurred to him.

"If you don't take care of Felicity, then who does?" he asked

"Oh, She lives with Melissa Keel. Melissa has a girl about her age so when I asked her to be Feli's guardian she said yes." Beverly explained.

Jean-Luc nodded, "Well, do you feel any better? Now that you told me about her. Is that why you have been sick? Or is there something else?" he asked.

Beverly thought for a minute. Maybe he had had enough for the day so she should wait until tomorrow to tell him the other thing. Or maybe she could just wait a few more days and tell him during shore leave. That was what she would do.

"Well I feel better about that, but I think that my headache is just from the amount of sleep that I've been getting for a while. I stay awake all night talking to you and then go to work for 17 hours on maybe an hour of sleep."

Jean-Luc smiled "Well, then maybe I should go so that you can sleep tonight." He said making a move to stand, but Beverly grabbed his arm.

"Jean-Luc… Why don't you sleep next to me tonight?" She said.

He looked at her "Can't you sleep alone?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes Captain." she said sarcastically.

"But, I want to feel you next to me, we're going to have to get use to it right?"

His lips parted to say something but Beverly stopped him with a kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The air was filled with joy, worry, sadness and confusion as Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi discussed Beverly's circumstances. Beverly had to hear Deanna's opinion before she left, she needed an outside voice in the matter.

"I need to talk to someone… it's important." Beverly had began.

Deanna smiled warmly. "Well, you can talk to me. Is this about you leaveing for Star Fleet Medical tomorrow?"

"No, well, I mean yes." She paused trying to judge Deanna's reaction.

"You're confused and worried. I think that you're making a wonderful career choice. And if you're worried about Wesley staying for a few days…" Deanna trailed off senseing Beverly's emotions "That's not it. What's wrong?"

Beverly took a deep breath. "Deanna, I do think this is a great career choice and I know Wes will be fine here, he'll probably want to stay longer. But my career is not the only reason that I have to leave the ship right now." she paused briefly and then continued "Deanna, I'm pregnant…"

Deanna sat up in her chair. "Wow. Congratulations… Why are you worried?"

"I just don't know if I'm going to make the right choice. I'm about to deny my child a chance to know it's father. Jean-Luc doesn't like kids too much and his career is so important to him, having a baby isn't what he has in mind right now. I mean, he has no idea… This wasn't suppose to happen."

Deanna took a moment to think about the situation.

"Beverly, when and how things are meant to workout they will. Just remember to put your child's life first. Do what you think is best for him or her, it's going to be a rough road ahead of you, but you will get through it."

Beverly sighed. "I know all too well what it's like to be a single parent and I know how it feels to be a kid without parents… but at least I had Nana, my child is gonna have me only on weekends and holidays. Deanna, am I doing the right thing?" She asked desperate for reassurance.

Deanna shook her head "I don't know. I am no use to you as a counselor this time."

Beverly smiled softly, "But you've been a good friend to sit here and listen to me."

Both women stood up and embraced.

"Good luck with this Beverly." Deanna said quietly.

Beverly awoke to the sound of Jean-Luc's voice. She'd been having one of those flashback dreams again. There was so much going on in her head that was to be expected.

"Beverly, wake up. It's seven thirty. We're both late for work… by 2 hours.." Jean-Luc said in a hurried voice.

Beverly popped out of bed and started to get dressed.

"Well look on the bright side, I slept all night."

As Beverly pulled on her uniform Jean-Luc turned to her and asked,

"What does she look like?"

Beverly stared at him with a question on her face trying to push away the fogginess of her sleepy mind. Then she realized who he was talking about.

"Felicity?" She asked. Jean-Luc nodded.

"Well, She's got curly chin length red hair and your eye color. She is tall and skinny. She is very beautiful." Beverly said pulling on her uniform top.

"I'm sure. You are her mother." Jean-Luc complimented. Beverly smiled and headed over to her bedroom closet.

"I've got some pictures somewhere."

After a minute she finds a box with a photo album in it. She flips through it as she lays it on the bed near where Jean-Luc had a sat. They passed pictures of Beverly, her Nana, Wesley, Jack, Jean-Luc, Will and Deanna's wedding.

"She's so much like you Jean-Luc, that is except for her temper, she's a Howard all the way. Ah here's the pictures." she said pointing to the book.

Then she handed it to Jean-Luc. He smiled as he stared at pictures of their daughter. There were pictures from when she was a baby all the way up to Beverly's last shore leave. One picture especially caught Jean-Luc attention it was of Felicity with a boy. He was holding her close.

"Who is he?" Jean-Luc asked looking at Beverly. Beverly had a very sober look on her face.

"Uh, That picture was taken at her 9th grade homecoming dance. That was her boyfriend Christian… they were very much in love."

"Were?"

There was a short moment of silence and then Beverly explained.

"Christian died last year. Some angry teenager murdered him. Feli swears that she'll never love again."

Jean-Luc took one more glance at the pictures and then closed the book he looked up at Beverly.

"I've been there." She said continuing the thought. Jean-Luc took her hand, but Beverly, being Beverly quickly changed the subject.

"C'mon We've got to get going we're already late enough." She said leaving her bedroom..


	5. Chapter 5

**Please Review!**

**CHAPTER 5**

Captain William T. Riker's ready room was full of both a professional and a personal atmosphere that made it welcoming during times of peace and exploration. There was a desk with one comfortable chair behind it and two nice chairs in front of it. There was a standard couch on one side of the room and across from it on the wall hung a design of the USS Titan's specs.

Captain Riker sat relaxed in the chair behind the desk and Counselor Deanna Riker sat in front of the desk. The crew of the Titan didn't have much to do because they had just finished a large exploration assignment. Now was a bit of a downtime.

Riker folded his hands in his lap and stared up at the ceiling.

"So, I've been thinking…" he started. "Our crew could use a break. How does two weeks of shore leave sound?"

Riker looked at his wife for her reaction.

She smiled brightly and said excitedly, "Wonderful… when?"

Will smiled, "We have received approval to take it at the same time as the Enterprise's shore leave. A rendezvous date is set for noon tomorrow."

By the look that Deanna wore, he knew that she approved.

"I'll have to inform the crew. This is great! We'll get to see all our old friends and catch up. I'll have to call Beverly tonight."

Will let out a ragged breath, "I hope that this goes better than the Titan's last shore leave."

Deanna's expression fell as she recalled the events of last time. A Romulan threat that had been a simple misunderstanding, but a deadly one.

"Hopefully this will be totally carefree." She said quietly as she stood up.

"Well, I've got to go pick up our daughter from Issy's quarters, she goes on duty in twenty minutes."

"I'll be home as soon as I can be and we can start packing tonight." Will said as Deanna turned to leave.

Dressed in her standard Star Fleet uniform with her brown hair pulled back, Isabel Manhattan put a dark haired eighteen month old baby girl down in a playpen. Wesley Crusher stood behind her as they spoke.

"I thought you weren't coming by today Wes, something about double shifts…" Isabel said turning to him.

Wesley smiled, "Yeah, well, I'm on my lunch break. Listen, I was thinking, tomorrow night they're hosting movie night on the holodeck, maybe you and Jennifer would like to join me…"

Isabel smiled. "That would be great Wes. It would be good for Jenni, she's been so involved with her studies lately.

Wesley smiled again. "Great!"

Isabel rested her hands on Wesley's chest and the light made her bight green eyes sparkle as well as the engagement ring on her left ring finger. The moment was broken by the sound of the door chime.

Isabel sighed, walked over to the door and pressed the open button.

It was Deanna Troi.

"Hi Issy, hi Wesley. I just came by to get Dianna." Sensing their emotions Deanna added, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Isabel shook her head. "Oh, no. Dianna has been really good today. She hardly made a sound."

Isabel walked over to the playpen and picked up the little girl. She handed her to Deanna. Deanna held her lovingly and sported a motherly smile.

"Thanks for watching her for me."

Isabel smiled "Oh, it was no problem. We had fun."

Deanna looked at Wesley. She couldn't keep the news a secret anymore, especially not from him.

"Will is going to make the official announcement this afternoon, but there is no harm in the two of you knowing. At this time tomorrow we are going to rendezvous with the Enterprise and head for shore leave."

Wesley and Isabel were excited and smiled wildly. Then after a second a concerned look spread across Wesley's face.

He asked Deanna, "Um, Counselor Troi, have you told my mom about our engagement?"

Deanna shook her head. "No, I thought you should do that."

"Okay, Good."

Isabel looked at Wesley  
"I haven't even me your mom."

Wesley knew that she would bring this up,  
"Well now you will."

Isabel gave him a questioning look,  
"Does she even know about me yet?"

Wesley shot Isabel a hurt look.  
"Issy you're the love of my life, of course I mentioned you." He stopped for a minute, suddenly not so sure.

"I'm sure I did…" He pondered.

Both Isabel and Deanna raised their eyebrows at him.


End file.
